Volume 3, Chapter 214 – The Inn

Within Beihe Commandery’s city, the street scenes were prosperous, with people coming and going.

Qin Qingfen led a group of household servants and maids, walking along the main street.

Not far behind her was Lu Zhuxin, dressed in white robes and a red skirt.

The girl wasn’t tall, but she was delicate and lovely, with an adorable hairstyle and white ribbons around her neck.

She was surrounded in the center by a group of household servants and maids like stars surrounding the moon, clearly the scene of a prestigious family’s young lady going out.

However, Lu Zhuxin felt she wasn’t out for a stroll. Being surrounded by these people felt more like being under escort.

Qin Qingfen ahead would occasionally turn her head to glare coldly at Lu Zhuxin.

All these surrounding maids were Qin Qingfen’s trusted confidants.

Since Qin Qingfen disliked Lu Zhuxin, these servants naturally wouldn’t give Lu Zhuxin any pleasant treatment either.

They surrounded Lu Zhuxin in the center like interlocking chains, blocking all her escape routes.

Lu Zhuxin’s gaze swept over these maids as she smiled lightly to herself.

Qin Qingfen was guarding her like she was guarding against a thief.

But if things continued this way, the situation would become rather unfortunate.

If these people kept watching her like this, she’d have no way to slip away and retrieve what she needed.

Chi Xiyan hadn’t come along. After finishing her conversation with Qin Qingfen, she’d been summoned away by Old Master Chi for something. She had no free time this afternoon and couldn’t accompany Lu Zhuxin.

So now Lu Zhuxin could only come out with Qin Qingfen.

Thinking of Qin Qingfen and Chi Xiyan’s earlier conversation, a flash of coldness passed through Lu Zhuxin’s eyes.

Something must be wrong with her. Constantly opposing Lu Zhuxin. Her existence was simply a stumbling block on Lu Zhuxin’s path to winning over Chi Xiyan.

Unfortunately, this woman was very important to Chi Xiyan. Without a thorough plan, Lu Zhuxin couldn’t directly make a move against her.

Now, if Lu Zhuxin wanted to retrieve what Lingxu Sword Sect had sent, she had to first separate from these people and avoid their sight.

This wasn’t an easy task.

The Chi residence servants almost all possessed cultivation, ranging from First to Third Realm.

Yu Lizhi was an ordinary person with no cultivation. Avoiding these cultivators’ surveillance was nearly impossible.

Of course, before an Eighth Realm great demon, these weren’t issues. But if done too carelessly, it would easily leave flaws.

If this matter exposed the Fox Monarch’s identity, then everything would be a loss.

Moreover, what was even more troublesome was that aside from these Second and Third Realm maids around her, Lu Zhuxin could also sense an extremely powerful aura faintly locked onto her.

The source of this aura was a household servant not far from Lu Zhuxin.

Lu Zhuxin swept a glance at him from the corner of her eye.

He was an ordinary-looking man around thirty years old.

He followed silently behind everyone, rarely communicating with others.

He looked somewhat out of place, disinterested in everything around him.

But Lu Zhuxin could clearly sense that trace of subtle qi.

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That man’s attention was firmly locked on Lu Zhuxin.

This man was a powerhouse, with cultivation at early Sixth Realm.

Such a formidable expert was actually inconspicuously mingling among a group of household servants and guards.

Was this a bodyguard Chi Xiyan had found for her?

But after observing for a while, Lu Zhuxin discovered it wasn’t.

His behavior was completely unlike that of a bodyguard.

On the contrary, this Sixth Realm powerhouse had been observing Lu Zhuxin all along.

Lu Zhuxin could even sense a faint trace of killing intent from that qi.

A Sixth Realm powerhouse with killing intent toward her was brazenly mixed into the household servants’ group.

But Yu Lizhi as a person was entirely fictional. She couldn’t possibly have feuded with anyone or provoked anyone. So why would such a Sixth Realm powerhouse harbor killing intent toward her?

This Sixth Realm powerhouse should be Qin Qingfen’s person.

That would explain the source of that killing intent.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhuxin gave a light snort.

With a Sixth Realm powerhouse watching her like this, doing anything now would be very difficult.

“Nanny Qin.”

Lu Zhuxin tried to approach the front but was blocked by two maids.

“Miss Yu, for your safety, please don’t leave our protection range.”

Protection range?? What protection was this? This was clearly an escort!

Lu Zhuxin’s mouth twitched. “Sisters, I need to use the toilet urgently. I wanted to ask if Nanny Qin could let me find a place to relieve myself.”

Upon hearing this, the two maids’ faces clearly showed traces of disgust.

“Miss Yu, on this busy main street with people coming and going, where would there be a place for you to relieve yourself?”

“Moreover, before coming out, didn’t you go?”

Such terrible attitudes!

Would a prestigious family like the Chi family raise such insolent servants?

Yu Lizhi was at least the Chi family’s prospective young lady. At worst, she shouldn’t be treated like this by two maids.

These maids probably didn’t have the courage on their own. They must have received someone’s secret instructions.

Lu Zhuxin looked toward Qin Qingfen ahead.

Lu Zhuxin’s voice just now wasn’t small. Qin Qingfen definitely heard it, but she hadn’t turned to look at Lu Zhuxin even once.

Clearly, she’d handed the task of making things difficult to the maids while wanting to stay out of it herself.

Looking at these two maids being used as tools, Lu Zhuxin felt like those Mahayana-stage senior sisters in female-oriented novels who get framed by Qi Condensation-stage junior sisters.

These two maids before her were indeed at Qi Condensation stage, and Lu Zhuxin was indeed at Mahayana stage.

Unfortunately, Eighth Realm cultivation wasn’t invincible, and the Fox Monarch’s identity couldn’t be exposed in human territory.

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Lu Zhuxin didn’t want to be hunted by human Eighth Realm powerhouses.

Lu Zhuxin had a combat power of five.

Fighting and brawling were things red foxes did.

She was just a delicate, weak pink-furred fox.

Lu Zhuxin lifted her skirt hem, saying bashfully, “But Sister, this is very urgent!”

The maid looked at Lu Zhuxin’s unseemly appearance with disgust.

She really couldn’t understand how such a person became the Chi family’s prospective young lady.

“A living person won’t be killed by needing to urinate. Miss Yu, hold it a bit longer!”

Was this Qin Qingfen’s method? Using this way to torment her?

Going out on foot instead of taking a carriage, that was for this purpose too, wasn’t it?

Seeing Lu Zhuxin was thin and weak, thinking she had poor stamina and endurance?

What inner residence scheming novel villain combo.

Such limited thinking.

Lu Zhuxin clutched her skirt. “But I really can’t hold it anymore!”

“You don’t want me to wet myself in public, do you?”

“If I really did that…”

“I’m just a farm girl myself. Doing such things outdoors is commonplace for me.”

“But now you’re all around me. The common people all know I’m the Chi family’s young lady.”

“It would be the Chi family’s face that’s lost.”

“When the family head finds out and assigns blame, I just arrived at the Chi family and don’t understand prestigious family etiquette. But you Chi family servants, knowing prestigious family etiquette yet still allowing your own young lady to commit such a breach of propriety…”

“Tell me, when the time comes, who will the family head punish?”

Lu Zhuxin’s face still wore a sweet smile, not looking at all like she was threatening.

But the maid confronting her was already drenched in cold sweat.

Lu Zhuxin was right. If she really did that, the Chi family head definitely wouldn’t punish Yu Lizhi, this prospective young lady.

Only these replaceable maids would be punished.

“Miss… Miss Yu, don’t be hasty.” The maid said frantically, “I’ll go ask Nanny Qin what to do.”

Tsk tsk, selling out Qin Qingfen just like that?

Qin Qingfen’s ability to train servants wasn’t very good either.

Unable to use external force that broke the rules, only borrowing power allowed within the rules. Fortunately, Lu Zhuxin was quite skilled at such minor tactics.

Qin Qingfen walked over. Looking at Lu Zhuxin, her eyes were dark.

This seductress was indeed as she thought, not as simple as she appeared on the surface.

Now, with Chi Xiyan not by her side, was she starting to reveal her other face?

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Those threatening words to the maid earlier weren’t something a short-sighted, submissive farm girl could say.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t kill her now.

But it didn’t matter. Once she lost her usefulness, Qin Qingfen would personally eliminate this seductress.

“Yu Lizhi, what exactly do you want to do?” Qin Qingfen asked.

“Nanny Qin, I need to urinate,” Lu Zhuxin said with an embarrassed expression. “No need to trouble you all. I can go find a place myself.”

“That won’t do,” Qin Qingfen said. “Xiyan said we can’t let you leave our sight.”

“Moreover, you’re alone and unfamiliar with this place. Where would you find a toilet?”

Lu Zhuxin said quietly, “I can just find any corner. It’ll be quick. No one will see.”

Qin Qingfen stared at Lu Zhuxin with a strange gaze for a good while.

“No. You were brought back by Xiyan. You might not feel ashamed yourself, but I can’t let you lose face for Xiyan.”

“Let’s go to an inn.”

“There’s a Chi family inn nearby. We can rest there for a while.”

An inn? That might work.

Lu Zhuxin looked ahead into the distance and indeed saw an inn.

With the Chi family’s wealth, their properties could be found everywhere in the commandery city.

The group entered the inn. When the innkeeper saw Qin Qingfen, he immediately hurried over.

“Nanny Qin, honored guest!” The innkeeper wiped the fine sweat on his forehead. “How do you have time to come to the shop today?”

“Out running errands. We’ll be back soon,” Qin Qingfen said.

“Oh, I see. I’ll prepare the finest tea for you right away,” the innkeeper said with an ingratiating smile.

Lu Zhuxin’s gaze swept over this innkeeper’s face.

This shopkeeper seemed somewhat nervous? What was he nervous about? Was it because of Qin Qingfen?

Or was there another reason?

Lu Zhuxin wondered as her Eighth Realm divine consciousness spread out discreetly.

Through her powerful realm advantage, she could secretly investigate everyone in this inn without alerting anyone.

Soon, Lu Zhuxin discovered something suspicious.

Many experts were hidden in this inn. Some were concealed in rooms, nervously gripping weapons.

Others sat in the inn’s main hall, drinking and laughing freely. Only their sharp gazes occasionally swept past the inn’s entrance.

When Qin Qingfen, Lu Zhuxin, and their group entered the inn, these people’s gazes swept over them. Upon discovering they were Chi family people, they uniformly looked away.

Lu Zhuxin noticed. She smiled slightly.

Interesting. They seemed to have stumbled into some event.

Someone had laid a net of heaven and earth in this inn.

What was this for? To capture someone? Or kill someone?

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There were quite a few people here at Third and Fourth Realm.

What surprised Lu Zhuxin most was that among them was actually a peak Fifth Realm powerhouse.

She sat at a tea table by the second-floor railing, leisurely drinking tea.

This was a woman. She should be the leader of this group.

Lu Zhuxin raised her head and saw this woman’s appearance clearly.

A very beautiful woman with a heroic air between her brows.

Just one glance and one would easily be attracted by that special heroic quality about her.

Who was this person?

Generally speaking, in novels, those who possessed such looks wouldn’t be nobodies.

Unfortunately, though this world was Lu Zhuxin’s novel world, Lu Zhuxin couldn’t determine this person’s identity from appearance alone.

However, in Beihe Commandery, aside from the commandery government and prestigious families, only some sects and gangs could mobilize so many powerhouses at once.

But from their behavior, they were well-trained. Each person’s position seemed carefully chosen. If Lu Zhuxin weren’t an Eighth Realm great demon with superior perception, she might not have noticed the irregularities.

Powerhouses with this quality didn’t seem like the rabble from small sects and gangs.

Then the only force Lu Zhuxin could think of in her mind was one.

The imperial court’s Demon Suppression Bureau.

The court’s Demon Suppression Bureau only mobilized when demon beasts appeared.

And recently, the Demon Suppression Bureau had been busy working with sword sect disciples to track fox demons.

What were they doing here? Were they here to catch demons?

Were there fox demons haunting this place?

That shouldn’t be.

Lu Zhuxin hadn’t detected any pheromone marks left by fox demons here.

This wasn’t a fox demon foothold either.

So what were these Demon Suppression Bureau people doing guarding this place?

Lu Zhuxin pondered. Her gaze discreetly glanced at the Sixth Realm powerhouse in Qin Qingfen’s group.

She saw that powerhouse’s lowered hand unconsciously rubbing his fingertips.

Though he appeared very relaxed, he’d actually secretly prepared his defenses.

It seemed Qin Qingfen’s expert had also noticed something wrong with this inn.

However, his perception wasn’t as clear as Lu Zhuxin’s.

Yet what surprised Lu Zhuxin was that this powerhouse apparently had no intention of warning Qin Qingfen.

“Zhizhi,” Qin Qingfen called to Lu Zhuxin. “The toilet is behind the inn. Have the maids accompany you.”

“Don’t casually leave the maids’ sight. This is for your safety.”